Case study - Action Against Hunger - Upsall International

Building a Global Roadmap for Fundraising Growth at Action Against Hunger

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Who did we partner with?

Action Against Hunger is a leading global humanitarian organisation committed to ending life-threatening hunger for good. Operating in over 55 countries, the organisation saves lives by detecting, preventing, and treating malnutrition, driving long-term solutions that address its root causes.

What was the challenge?

Action Against Hunger set out an ambitious goal to significantly scale up fundraising income, aiming to nearly double revenue levels across 7 key fundraising markets. Achieving this required a clear and coordinated global strategy, better alignment across national fundraising programmes, and well-founded business cases for targeted investment.

While the organisation had a strong operational footprint and a respected global brand, fundraising program maturity varied considerably across markets. The challenge was to identify where and how to invest for the greatest return, build alignment on strategic priorities, and create the internal structures to enable shared learning and coordinated growth.

What was our solution?

We carried out a comprehensive multi-market fundraising review, covering both mature and emerging markets. Our work combined market analysis, benchmarking, and close collaboration with national and global teams to design a roadmap for achieving the organisation’s growth objectives.

Key steps included:

Performance benchmarking across markets to highlight strengths, gaps, and opportunities
Donor lifecycle analysis to identify the channels and tactics with the highest potential for scaling, with a focus on donor acquisition, retention, and lifetime value
Evaluation of the full fundraising mix, including individual giving, corporate partnerships, major donors, legacy, and institutional channels
Market-specific business cases outlining investment scenarios and projected returns, designed to guide both short- and long-term decision-making
Aggregated global view aligning all market plans to provide a clear organisational perspective on investment requirements, expected growth and risk mitigation
Collaborative workshops with each market and with the global fundraising community to review findings, validate scenarios, and build alignment on next steps

What was the result?

The project delivered a clear, evidence-based global strategy for fundraising growth, along with detailed market-level action plans.

Action Against Hunger now has:

A co-ordinated roadmap for achieving significant income growth across unrestricted and restricted funding
Aligned investment scenarios for each market, integrated into a global view that allows for strategic decision-making at the organisational level
Greater clarity on where targeted investment will deliver the highest return
Stronger global alignment and collaboration between national fundraising teams
A structured approach for scaling high-potential channels such as digital acquisition, corporate partnerships, and regular giving

This work has positioned Action Against Hunger to make informed, strategic investments in its fundraising, with the goal of reaching significantly higher income levels to support its mission worldwide.

"The team at Upsall International was simply phenomenal. Their process was not only deeply informative, combining rigorous market analysis with our own team's expertise, but it was also a delightful collaboration that built powerful alignment across our global organisation. The resulting strategy gives us a clear and reassuring path to confidently scale our fundraising and impact."
Eric Bebernitz, Director Of External Relations, Action Against Hunger USA